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December, 2005

December is Christmas time in America. AS one of the most important holidays of the year in America - people from across the country spend this very special day with their closest friends and family. Christmas has become one of the biggest nationwide events of the year, characterized by family gatherings, shopping and gift giving. However the true meaning of an American Christmas can be found in the country’s first settlers, who saw the country as a new promised land to begin an honest, bold and beautiful life.

  History of Christmas in America

Christmas has been apart of the American tradition since European settlers arrived in what is now the continental United States centuries ago. Spanish missionaries celebrated the holiday in what is now California and Arizona in the 1500s. Colonists from Russia celebrated Christmas with indigenous peoples in Alaska in the late 1700s. However the most notable group responsible for shaping Christmas into the holiday it is known as today, were the

European settlers arriving on the Eastern shores of the United States in 1600s. Arriving from Western and Northern Europe, these settlers brought with them many of the Christian ideology and holidays to this new land. Christmas was a time to reflect on the year, pray, spend time with their families and give a small gift to loved ones. The very humble beginnings found in the hard working spirit of American’s first pioneers have had a profound effect on the concept of Christmas today. The early influence of Christian settlers has impacted the social, economic and political structure of the United States. One of the strongest traces still felt today by America’s first settler is the Christmas holiday. Millions of Americans take time to travel across the country to visit their families and friends. Businesses prepare for a massive influx of shoppers through the month of December, helping millions of Americans trying to find the right gift for their family members and friends. The Federal Government of the United States recognized both the religious significance and popularity of Christmas by making the day a Federal Holiday on June 26, 1870. Today, one of the more profound symbols of the government’s respect for Christmas is the “National Christmas Tree” displayed on the White House Lawn every year in Washington D.C. since 1923.

  Christmas – An American Holiday

Although the roots of Christmas lay in Christian doctrine – the true meaning of Christmas found in the spirit of giving and warmth of friends and family – has had a major impact on American society. Many Americans have adopted this secular perspective of Christmas – seen in both Christian and non-Christian celebrating the day with gift giving and family time. The massive influx of Christmas shopping has a profound impact on the American economy,

becoming the biggest shopping period of the whole year. In recent years, the skyrocketing amount of money spent by consumers has become grounds for controversy, considering that the beginning of Christmas was much humbler. Given the amount of attention Christmas has been given each year, the secular meaning of Christmas has become more visible. This year’s traditional ceremony of displaying a Christmas tree on the White House lawn was called a “Holiday Tree” ceremony rather than its predecessor – the “National Christmas Tree.” Regardless of name or government recognition, Christmas remains a central part of the American family throughout December.

  Christmas in an American home

American families begin the Christmas Holiday by displaying a Christmas tree in their house. Traditionally, the tree is decorated by the family on the weekend after Thanksgiving (24 November), and remains displayed through the beginning of January. During the four weeks prior to Christmas Day on 25 December, Americans purchase gifts for their friends and family; carefully placing them under the Christmas tree for the family to view.

This is an exceptionally exciting time for children who wait patiently for Christmas Eve when Santa Claus will deliver gifts for the family. Early on Christmas morning, children all across the country rush to walk up their families and gather around the Christmas tree to see what gifts arrived by magic the night before.

To read more about Christmas in America, click on the following sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas

http://www.northpole.com/